San Francisco 49ers’ $71 million star unexpectedly brought up as a potential trade candidate
The 49ers don’t have the record they were hoping for at this point in the season, even though they hold the top position in the NFC West. San Francisco is currently 3-3 after a rough start.
The team has shown improvement recently as they are getting healthier, but could a change be coming?
Dianna Russini from The Athletic created a list of potential “trade deadline names to watch” and surprisingly included 49ers star Deebo Samuel as a possible trade option.
“Trade deadline names to watch,” Russini said. “The trade deadline is 17 days away; many around the league are keeping an eye on these names:
(Carolina Panthers) (quarterback) Bryce Young and (wide receivers) Diontae Johnson, Jonathan Mingo, and Adam Thielen, 49ers (wide receiver) Deebo Samuel, (Chicago Bears) (running back) Khalil Herbert and (defensive end) Dom Robinson, (Tennessee Titans) (wide receivers) Treylon Burks and DeAndre Hopkins, (Cleveland Browns) (defensive end) Za’Darius Smith.”
Samuel has been part of trade talks before, but he was not traded. He has one year left on a three-year, $71.5 million contract. If the 49ers do not see Samuel in their long-term plans, trading him might make sense. However, doing so would greatly weaken the team’s offense.
Christian McCaffrey, who has been dealing with an injury during training camp, was expected to play in the San Francisco 49ers’ first game of the season.
The skilled running back and 49ers general manager John Lynch even mentioned that he would play. However, he didn’t end up playing and hasn’t been in a game yet after six weeks.
McCaffrey was placed on injured reserve before Week 2 and is now eligible to return, but he is still suffering from Achilles tendinitis in both legs, which could keep him out for a significant part of the season. According to ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler, the middle of the season could be a key time for his return.
“There’s still some mystery around McCaffrey as to when he’s going to come back exactly,” Fowler said on SportsCenter today. “But I’ve talked with some people in the organization who said, ‘Look we have the bye week coming up. Not this week, not next week, but then after that.’
“So that Week 9, Week 10 range could be a natural spot for McCaffrey to ramp up to be ready for the second half of the season. That still is the plan — for him to impact November, December in some fashion.
